Jeff Sessions

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III grew up in Hybart, AL (two hours north of Mobile) Small town with 10 houses, K-12 rode bus for white kids only. School was segregated. Father ran country store & Sessions helped out and played football (small but tenacious linebacker). 1981 Reagan appointed him US Attorney in Mobile, prosecuted three black civil rights workers for voter fraud, zero convictions. 1986 Reagan tapped him for federal district court judge. "During confirmation a Justice Department lawyer alleged that Sessions had called the NAACP "Communist-inspired" and "un-American." One witness said Sessions once referred to a white civil rights lawyer as a "disgrace to his race." And a black prosecutor who worked closely with him testified that Sessions had called him "boy." Sessions denied all of this at the hearing." He was voted down. His defining issue today is immigration today. He opposes a legal path to citizenship, backs Trump's plan for a wall and supports limiting legal immigration to protect American jobs. (NPR)

voted to expand the health coverage of fetuses at the expense of their mother's coverage. (MotherJones)

Sessions is co-sponsoring the euphemistically named bill, S.1598 - First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which will roll back LGBT rights in housing, employment, health care, and protections against violence and opposed reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. (Forbes)

A judge and jury found the Civil Rights Activists hadn't violated any laws.

1985.07.05

Jeff Sessions unsuccessfully tries to prosecute a former aid to Martin Luther King along with two others for helping elderly black people vote.washingtonpost.com

The trio if convicted would face up to 150 years in prison.

1986.03

Sessions admits that he called the NAACP "un-American" and an assistant U.S attorney testifies he said, "You know the NAACP hates white people; they are out to get them. That is why they bring these lawsuits, and they are a commie group and a pinko organization as well."npr.org

1986.03

Sessions gives testimony that conflicts with previous testimony on whether or not he made racist statements.npr.org

1986.03.19

the widow of Martin Luther King send a letter to the Senate calling Jeff Sessions a racist.npr.org

1986.05

Sessions coworkers testify under oath that he refereed to black employees as, "boy" and commented about supporting the K.K.Kcnn.com

During his tenure as Alabama's attorney general Sessions launched a campaign to prevent a gay rights group from holding a conference at the University of Alabama.cnn.com(See also LGBTQIA)

2016.12.05

Disabled Americans are alarmed by Jeff Sessions, who once described the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as "the single greatest obstacle our educators face."teenvogue.com(See also People with Disabilities)

NAACP president among those arrested at the sit-in to protest Sessions nomination.washingtonpost.com

2017.01.07

Based on his known stances on guns, children's and elderly health, people with disabilities, LGBTQ, sexual assault, abortion, and veteran's health Sessions' nomination to Attorney General is one of Trump's most dangerous picks.forbes.com

Sessions did not disclose his subsurface oil and mineral rights to land adjacent to a federal wildlife preserve in Alabama. This is a breach of federal ethics rules.washingtonpost.com

2017.01.09

The Donald case, in which two Ku Klux Klan members were investigated and punished while Sessions was a US attorney general, is often used by Sessions allies as an example of his civil rights record. But the details of the case don't support the role they say Session played.theatlantic.com

2017.01.10

Jeff Sessions has a long history of opposition to legal immigration, law enforcement reform, interrogation restrictions, and limits on surveillance.politico.com

Senate grills Sessions on KKK and bigotry in a hearing that was disrupted by protesters.theguardian.com

2017.01.10

Senator Feinstein grills attorney general nominee Sessions over reproductive rights. Senator Leahy pins him down on whether Trump's conduct on the Access Hollywood tape would be considered sexual assault. He said it was.nytlive.nytimes.com

"Bannon described Sessions as “the clearinghouse for policy and philosophy” in Trump’s administration, saying he and the senator are at the center of Trump’s “pro-America movement” and the global nationalist phenomenon."

Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats request that Attorney General Jeff Sessions recuse himself from any investigations into communications between Trump team's and Russia, and that the White House counsel, Department of Justice and FBI preserve materials relevant to those contacts.theguardian.com(See also First 100 Days, Michael Flynn, Russian Meddling in Election)

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) shoots down a Democratic push for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to return to the Senate's Judiciary committee to discuss his conversations with the Russian ambassador.thehill.com(See also First 100 Days, Department of Justice)

2017.03.03

The Trump campaign's national-security policy representative for the Republican National Convention, J.D. Gordon, admits that he pushed to alter an amendment to the GOP's draft policy on Ukraine at the Republican National Convention last year to further align it with President Donald Trump's views.businessinsider.com(See also Russia, Ukraine, Conflicts of Interest)

2017.03.04

Before leaving for Mar-A-Lago for the weekend, Trump summons senior staff to the Oval Office and goes "ballistic" over Sessions's decision to recuse himself from portions of any investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign election, and then, after the meeting, leaves Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus behind in D.C.abcnews.go.com(See also First 100 Days, Russian Meddling in Election, Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon)

2017.03.10

ACLU files ethics complaint against Sessions over communications with Russian ambassador. His denial that he communicated with them violates Alabama's rules of professional conduct for lawyers.washingtonpost.com(See also First 100 Days)

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions abruptly asks the remaining 46 chief federal prosecutors left over from the Obama administration to resign, including Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who was asked to stay on in November by Trump.reuters.com(See also First 100 Days, Department of Justice)

The day after Trump asked FBI director James B. Comey to end an investigation into his former national security adviser, Mr. Comey confronted Attorney General Jeff Sessions and said he did not want to be left alone again with the president, believing Mr. Sessions should protect the F.B.I. from White House influence.nytimes.com(See also Michael Flynn, Russian Meddling in Election, Legal Activity, Corruption)

Former FBI Director James Comey told senators in a closed hearing Thursday afternoon that Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have had a third interaction with Russia's ambassador to the US.cnn.com(See also Russia)

Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions asking why the DOJ settled a major money-laundering case involving a real-estate company owned by the son of a powerful Russian government official whose lawyer (Natalia Veselnitskaya) met with Donald Trump Jr. last year.businessinsider.com(See also Corruption, Trump Relationship with Russia, Donald Trump Jr)

2017.07.13

In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the Justice Department released Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s SF-86 security-clearance that shows he denied having any contact with foreign governments or their representatives.theatlantic.com(See also Administration Errors, Russia, Michael Flynn)

He did.

2017.07.19

The US Justice Department rolled out a new policy that allows the government to seize more possessions and money under federal authority, in some cases circumventing state or local laws, even when a person has not been charged or convicted of a crime.buzzfeed.com(See also Assaults on Civil Liberties, Department of Justice)

Instead of looking at Russian meddling in last year’s election, Donald Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey and the president’s public drubbing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Republican Bob Goodlatte of Virgina, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has a different priority: investigating Hillary Clinton.bloomberg.com(See also 2016 Campaign, Corruption, Russian Meddling in Election, Assaults on Government)

2017.08.04

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a harsh rebuke of leaks and the media that report them, and signaled that the Justice Department could be changing how it deals with reporters in such cases, while offering no details about the scope or timeline of the review.buzzfeed.com(See also Attempts to Discredit Media, Department of Justice)

2017.08.04

The Senate blocked Trump from being able to make recess appointments on Thursday as lawmakers leave Washington for their August break.thehill.com(See also Trump Cabinet)

2017.08.08

The Justice Department has reversed its position in a high-profile voting case in Ohio, siding with the state in its effort to purge thousands of people from its rolls for not voting in recent elections.washingtonpost.com(See also Fascism, Department of Justice)

The move is part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to support restrictions on who is eligible to vote, a radical change in philosophy from the previous Justice Department, which sued a number of states over voting laws that it deemed discriminatory against minorities.

Donald Trump signed an executive order rescinding former President Barack Obama's restrictions on the transfer of military-style equipment from the Department of Defense to local law enforcement agencies.politico.com(See also Department of Defense, Fascism)

Sessions' directive says, "Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination encompasses discrimination between men and women but does not encompass discrimination based on gender identity per se, including transgender status.”

2017.10.10

A little-noticed mandate from the Trump administration has cleared the way for some people with outstanding arrest warrants to purchase guns, a change that worries law enforcement officials who say it could be allowing dangerous criminals to arm themselves.myajc.com(See also Department of Justice)

Standing before reporters in February, Donald Trump said unequivocally that he knew of nobody from his campaign who was in contact with Russians during the election, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions has told the Senate the same thing, but court documents unsealed this week cast doubt on both statements and raised the possibility that Mr. Sessions could be called back to Congress for further questioning.nytimes.com(See also Trump Relationship with Russia, Russian Meddling in Election, Legal Issues)

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is entertaining the idea of appointing a second special counsel to investigate a host of Republican concerns — including alleged wrongdoing by the Clinton Foundation and the controversial sale of a uranium company to Russia — and has directed senior federal prosecutors to explore at least some of the matters and report back to him and his top deputy.washingtonpost.com(See also Assaults on Government, Corruption, Department of Justice)

A federal judge in Philadelphia ruled against the Trump administration's policy of withholding law enforcement grants from so-called sanctuary cities, because it refuses full cooperation with federal authorities on immigration.thehill.com(See also Immigration, Department of Justice)

2017.11.19

An FBI report on the rise of black “extremists” is stirring fears of a return to practices used during the civil rights movement, when the bureau spied on activist groups without evidence they had broken any laws.apnews.com(See also Assaults on Civil Liberties, Racism)

2017.11.19

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating whether Donald Trump sought to obstruct a federal inquiry into connections between his presidential campaign and Russian operatives has now directed the Justice Department to turn over a broad array of documents, suggesting that the Special Counsel is still actively digging into, among other matters, whether Trump or any other administration official improperly tried to influence an ongoing investigation.abcnews.go.com(See also Russian Meddling in Election, Corruption, Department of Justice, Legal Activity)

The Department of Justice acknowledged in a statement that copies of private text messages exchanged between two former special-counsel investigators were disclosed to certain members of the media before they were given to Congress, even though those disclosures "were not authorized."businessinsider.com(See also Legal Issues, Reversals, Department of Justice)

2017.12.21

On the orders of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Justice Department prosecutors have begun asking FBI agents to explain the evidence they found in a now dormant criminal investigation into a controversial uranium deal that critics have linked to Bill and Hillary Clinton.nbcnews.com(See also Fascism, Belief in Conspiracy Theories, Department of Justice)

2017.12.21

The Justice Department wiped a wide swath of "guidance documents" off the books on Thursday, withdrawing 25 documents — including one addressing integration of people with disabilities in state and local government programs and another on standards for assessing citizenship status discrimination.buzzfeed.com(See also People with Disabilities, Department of Justice, Immigrants)

2018.01.02

Donald Trump's pick to run Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called for a crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities, saying politicians who help run them should be charged with crimes.thehill.com(See also Fascism, Immigration, Department of Justice)

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has consistently urged FBI Director Christopher Wray to make a “fresh start” by cleaning house and firing his core team, including Andrew McCabe - the man who the White House just picked to lead the FBI when Donald Trump fired James Comey, causing Wray to threaten his resignation.splinternews.com(See also Corruption, Legal Issues, Department of Justice)

2018.01.23

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was questioned for several hours as part of the special counsel investigation, and the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, was interviewed by the office last year, marking the first time that investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, are known to have questioned a member of President Trump’s cabinet.nytimes.com(See also Department of Justice, Trump Relationship with Russia, Legal Issues)

2018.01.29

Andrew G. McCabe abruptly stepped down on Monday as the F.B.I.’s deputy director after months of withering criticism from Donald Trump, telling friends he felt pressure from the head of the bureau to leave, adding to what has already been a chaotic upheaval at the F.B.I. under Mr. Trump, who has responded to an investigation into his campaign with broadside attacks against both the bureau and the Justice Department.nytimes.com(See also Unprecedented Actions, Unpresidential Behavior, Corruption, Department of Justice)

More than 13 months into the Trump administration, the Justice Department is now officially without its Senate-confirmed No. 3 in charge revealing that there are very few people serving in “permanent” roles in the Justice Department.buzzfeed.com(See also Department of Justice, Assaults on Government)

The Justice Department is suing California over immigration laws that oppose Mr. Trump’s agenda, saying state laws make it impossible for federal immigration officials to deport criminals born outside of the United States.nytimes.com(See also Immigration, Department of Justice, Legal Activity)

Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed states to pursue the death penalty in certain drug-related cases as an answer to the opioid epidemic—a plan Donald Trump first announced this week in New Hampshire.splinternews.com(See also Department of Justice, Domestic Policy)

2018.03.21

Nearly a year before Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired senior FBI official Andrew McCabe for what Sessions called a "lack of candor," McCabe oversaw a federal criminal investigation into whether Sessions himself lacked candor when testifying before Congress about contacts with Russian operatives.abcnews.go.com(See also False Statements, Department of Justice, Resignations and Dismissals)

The Trump administration has put its search for the Justice Department’s No. 3 official on the back burner after failing to persuade several candidates to take the challenging position, in the latest sign of the difficulties besetting the agency.wsj.com(See also Department of Justice)

2018.06.11

The Trump administration Monday overturned asylum protections for domestic violence victims in a decision that could affect thousands of asylum seekers from Central America.cnn.com(See also Immigration, Department of Justice)

More than 10,000 migrant children are being held at 100 HHS shelters, which are now 95% full.

2018.06.15

About 2,000 children have been separated from their families at the border over a six-week period during a new "zero tolerance policy" on illegal entries, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security figures.apnews.com(See also Immigration, Department of Homeland Security)

Amid growing backlash over the administration's policy resulting in family separation, the head of the Department of Homeland Security repeated a statement Trump officials have made to justify their tough stance on immigration: There is a crisis at the border, but according to DHS statistics for recent years, there has actually been a steady decline in border apprehensions over the past two decades.buzzfeed.com(See also False Statements, Immigration, Department of Homeland Security)

2018.06.18

The Trump administration said that it had separated 1,995 children from parents facing criminal prosecution for unlawfully crossing the border over a six-week period, as Donald Trump sought to shift blame for the widely criticized practice that has become the signature policy of his aggressive immigration agenda.nytimes.com(See also Immigration, Unprecedented Actions, Department of Homeland Security)

2018.06.19

Members of Jeff Sessions' own church filed a formal complaint against the attorney general, accusing him of "child abuse," "immorality," and "racial discrimination" and the “dissemination of doctrines contrary to the established standards of doctrines” of the United Methodist Church.abcnews.go.com(See also Immigration, Racism, Department of Justice)

2018.06.29

The Department of Justice, under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is drafting a plan that would totally overhaul asylum policy in the United States, barring people from getting asylum if they came into the US between ports of entry and were prosecuted for illegal entry, adding presumptions that would make it extremely difficult for Central Americans to qualify for asylum, and codify — in an even more restrictive form — an opinion written by Sessions in June that attempted to restrict asylum for victims of domestic and gang violence.vox.com(See also Immigration, Department of Justice)

The Senate voted 51-48 on Wednesday to confirm Brian Benczkowski as an assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, ending an 18-month delay in which its Criminal Division operated without a permanent leader, despite his legal work for a Russian bank.npr.org(See also Russia, Conflicts of Interest, Department of Justice)

2018.07.12

The Trump administration is implementing a new asylum policy at the border that will result in potentially thousands of asylum seekers being turned away before they can plead their case in court, as claims based on fear of gang and domestic violence will be immediately rejected, and the guidance tells officers they should consider whether an immigrant crossed the border illegally and weigh that against their claim, potentially rejecting even legitimate fears of persecution if the immigrant crossed illegally.cnn.com(See also Immigration, Department of Homeland Security)

Twenty-one Senate Democrats criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday for his decision to rescind guidance memos on affirmative action — which instructed schools on how they can legally consider the race of applicants to promote diversity — and pressed him to hand over records on racial discrimination complaints.buzzfeednews.com(See also Racism, Betsy DeVos, Department of Education)

2018.08.09

A federal judge in Washington halted a deportation in progress and threatened to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt after learning that the Trump administration started to remove a woman and her daughter while a court hearing appealing their deportations was underway.washingtonpost.com(See also Immigration, Legal Activity, Department of Justice)

“This is pretty outrageous,” U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said after being told about the removal. “That someone seeking justice in U.S. court is spirited away while her attorneys are arguing for justice for her?”

2018.09.03

Donald Trump attacked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department in connection with the indictments of two GOP congressmen on corruption charges, saying that the Justice Department should take politics into consideration in their work.washingtonpost.com(See also Department of Justice, Unprecedented Actions)

2018.09.05

The Trump administration has consistently sought to exaggerate the potential security threat posed by refugees and dismissed an intelligence assessment last year that showed refugees did not present a significant threat to the U.S.nbcnews.com(See also False Statements, Immigration, Department of State)

Hard-liners in the administration then issued their own report this year that several former officials and rights groups say misstates the evidence and inflates the threat posed by people born outside the U.S.

2018.09.19

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced new limits on the ability of immigration judges to terminate deportation cases on Wednesday, the latest in a series of decisions to facilitate the removal of immigrants in the country illegally.reuters.com(See also Immigration, Legal Activity, Department of Justice)

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions has drastically limited the ability of federal law enforcement officials to use court-enforced agreements to overhaul local police departments accused of abuses and civil rights violations.nytimes.com(See also Assaults on Civil Liberties, Department of Justice)

Jeff Sessions, fired as attorney general, has expressed skepticism about Obama-era efforts to improve relations between the police and their communities, saying the pacts vilify law enforcement.

2018.11.13

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, Donald Trump's choice to temporarily replace Jeff Sessions at the Justice Department, is facing a legal challenge to his appointment after less than a week on the job, as Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh's office filed court papers arguing that because Whitaker isn't a Senate-confirmed official, his appointment violates both federal law and the US Constitution.buzzfeednews.com(See also Legal Activity, Department of Justice)

2018.12.04

The Trump administration freed federal prosecutors on Thursday to more aggressively enforce marijuana laws, effectively threatening to undermine the legalization movement that has spread to six states, rescinding an Obama-era policy that had discouraged federal prosecutors from bringing charges of marijuana-related crimes in states that have legalized sales of the drug.nytimes.com(See also Reversals, Department of Justice)

A lawsuit in the 1990s had Alabama poised to fund poor black school districts as fairly as wealthy white schools. As attorney general Jeff Sessions helped kill it.propublica.org(See also Department of Justice)

Assessments

Eliana Johnson — The National Review

Sessions, 67, is a low-profile guy. Though he is not well known nationally, he has for years now been the instrumental force in quashing repeated attempts to pass comprehensive immigration reform. He has a gentle, almost grandfatherly quality, but he doesn’t shy away from combat. He derided the 2007 bill as “no illegal alien left behind”; in a single press conference, he blasted it as a “colossal error,” an “absolute scandal,” and a “fiscal disaster.” He declared: “Good fences make good neighbors.”